The principles of the silver complex diffusion transfer reversal process, hereinafter called DTR-process, have been described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,352,014 and in the book "Photographic Silver Halide Diffusion Processes" by Andre Rott and Edith Weyde--The Focal Press--London and New York, (1972).
In the DTR-process non-developed silver halide of an information-wise exposed photographic silver halide emulsion layer material is transformed with a so-called silver halide solvent into soluble silver complex compounds which are allowed to diffuse into an image-receiving element and are reduced therein with a developing agent, generally in the presence of physical development nuclei, to form a silver image having reversed image density values ("DTR-image") with respect to the black silver image obtained in the exposed areas of the photographic material.
A DTR-image bearing material can be used as a planographic printing plate wherein the DTR-silver image areas form the water-repellant ink-receptive areas on a water-receptive ink-repellant background. For example, typical lithographic printing plates are disclosed e.g. EP-A-423399 and EP-A-410500.
The DTR-image can be formed in the image-receiving layer of a sheet or web material which is a separate element with respect to the photographic silver halide emulsion material (a so-called two-sheet DTR element) or in the image-receiving layer of a so-called single-support-element, also called mono-sheet element, which contains at least one photographic silver halide emulsion layer integral with an image-receiving layer in waterpermeable relationship therewith. It is the latter mono-sheet version which is preferred for the preparation of offset printing plates by the DTR method.
As for other printing plates it is required that the printing plates obtained according to the DTR-process have a high printing endurance, good ink acceptance in the printing areas and no ink acceptance in the non-printing areas (so called toning) during start-up of the printing process is limited. With respect to these requirements the state of the transferred silver i.e. the silver formed in the image-receiving layer plays a very important role. Parameters that are known to control the state of the transferred silver are e.g. the rate of development of the exposed silver halide (chemical development), rate of dissolution of the non-exposed silver halide by the silver halide solvent(s), rate of diffusion of the silver halide complexes, rate of development of the silver halide complexes in the image receiving layer (physical development) etc.. Although other factors such as for example the plate construction have an influence on the aforementioned parameters the type of silver halide solvent influences most of the mentioned parameters to a large extent.
A further parameter for improving the printing properties of the printing plate especially printing endurance and staining is the differentiation between the hydrophobicity of the silver image and the hydrophilic background. To improve the hydrophobicity hydrophobizing agents are usually added to one or more processing liquids used for preparing the lithographic printing plate. However when these agents are used in large amounts heavy toning of the printing plate occurs.